Nothing Left Inside of My Chest
by revivingophelia
Summary: Kaitlyn thought that Eve Torres was her biggest problem. Turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Starts 1/14/13 RAW. Eve Torres/Seth Rollins, Kaitlyn/to be determined. Featuring the Shield, CM Punk, and others.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Nothing Left Inside of My Chest

Author: Karen U/revivingophelia

Pairing/Character: Eve Torres/Seth Rollins, Kaitlyn/?, the Shield, CM Punk, others

Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me

Rating: R/M

Summary: Kaitlyn thought that Eve Torres was her biggest problem. Turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Spoilers: 1/14/13 RAW; this is before it was revealed that Heyman was paying the Shield, so things may be a bit different in this one.

Warnings: language, violence, adult situations

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_[ ... I've got nothing left inside of my chest... but it's all alright... -Fun, All Alright... ]_

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Part One

She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that obnoxious bitch Eve Torres had thrown a fit and *quit* the WWE after losing the divas' title. Talk about a sore loser.

Kaitlyn shook her head at the thought, the new divas' champion making sure that the title belt was safely tucked away in her bag before rising to her feet, slinging the strap of the bag over her shoulder and heading for the door. She was actually one of the last divas to leave the locker room... It had taken her awhile to get back into her street clothes, what with the way she kept having to stop to get congratulated for her title win. Some of the others had wanted to hold the title, and she'd thought she was going to have to wrestle it away from Naomi, who seemed to like holding it a little too much, the other former NXT diva muttering something about how she would get it soon enough.

Ha. Not likely. Not if Kaitlyn had any say in the matter... And, given the fact that *she* was currently the divas' champion, she supposed she did have a bit of a say in the matter, if only by way of making sure she beat Naomi if they ever stepped into the ring against one another with the title on the line.

"Whatever," Kaitlyn muttered, shifting the strap of her bag on her shoulder again as she made her way through the halls, heading for the parking garage, where she was driving her actual car instead of a rental this time around. It was nice to be able to head home after the show instead of heading back to a hotel. Even more special was the fact that she was heading home with new hardware over her shoulder... Or, well, in her bag at the moment.

Shaking her head slightly, the new champion pushed the door to the parking garage open, pausing for a moment as she stepped out, searching out her car, then pausing when she caught sight of someone else making her way to what was most definitely a rental car... After all, this particular woman lived in California now and had grown up in Colorado, so Houston wasn't exactly home for her.

"I thought she'd be gone already," Kaitlyn muttered to herself, the woman frowning a little, because she knew she hadn't seen Eve in the divas' locker room after the match... And yet, the woman clearly had her things with her, and she was also clearly dressed in street clothes. Maybe she'd slipped in when no one was paying attention and grabbed her stuff, or... "Whatever. It doesn't matter," the woman muttered, though she was unable to stop herself from heading in the direction of Eve Torres, telling herself that, after everything the other diva had done, then she definitely deserved to be taunted a bit about what had happened tonight.

"Ah, look who's here. The woman that doesn't have the guts to stick around and face me in a rematch!" she called out, and Eve froze for a moment, then spun on her heel, her head held high as she looked at Kaitlyn.

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll actually believe it someday soon. I mean... What's your record against me anyway? In one-on-one and triple-threats? Screw tag matches, they don't count. You've pinned me, what... Twice in singles' matches? I pinned you five times. Well, one time I didn't pin you. I made you submit-"

"Only because my ankle was hurt, and you're the reason it was hurt in the first place-"

"Once again... Keep telling yourself that. I beat you to become Booker's assistant. I beat you when you were the number one contender. I made you submit. I won at Hell in a Cell in the triple threat, and I beat you at Survivor Series. It took you six title shots to get the championship from me. So congrats. Good job. Most people would have given up after losing the first three," Eve declared, and Kaitlyn sneered at her.

"But I kept trying. And now I'm the champion, and you're not. And you're so pathetic about losing that you quit-"

"I've been the champion three times in my career, little girl. That means I'd lost it twice before tonight. I didn't leave either of those times. Don't think that you're so special that you could make me leave now, because you're not. I have my reasons, and you're not one of them," the former divas' champion - the former diva after tonight - declared, her tone even and actually rather matter-of-fact and it was then, when Eve turned to walk away, turning her back on the younger woman, that Kaitlyn really saw red... She was pissed at what Eve had said to her, yes, but she was even angrier that Eve apparently saw her as so little of a threat that she was willing to turn her back on her and walk away. So, without even thinking about what she was doing, she reached out, shoving Eve in the back hard-

And the next thing she knew, Eve had spun around, swept her feet out from under her, and sent her landing hard on her ass on the concrete.

"That was not smart," Eve informed her, sweeping Kaitlyn's arm out from under her when the younger woman put her weight on it to push herself to her feet. The Houstonian swore as she flopped back down on the ground.

"Damn it-"

"You came after me, so you only have yourself to blame for the fact that you're sitting on your ass in the middle of the parking garage," Eve informed her, then shrugged and stepped back. "But you're free to get up now... As long as you get the hell away from me."

Kaitlyn was furious as she sat there on the ground, but she was partly furious with herself for her behavior, because she had, after all, gone after Eve from behind. She should have expected Eve to fight back and... Shaking her head, the woman got to her feet, startled when Eve reached down and grabbed her bag, then held it out for her. Quickly, she took it, then turned to walk away, trying to maintain some of her dignity.

And that was when it happened.

She heard the car coming around the turn, going too fast, the tires squealing, and as she turned to look, she swore that the vehicle adjusted its path so that it was coming *right at her*, and there was no way she was going to get out of the way in time-

And then she was sprawled on the ground, hands scraped on the hard concrete, a sickening thud causing her to shudder as she realized that someone had pushed her out of the way, that the person that had saved her had probably been hit instead... She heard the tires squeal again as the car drove away, and she quickly turned, her heart pounding in her chest, Kaitlyn somehow knowing exactly who she would see laying on the ground where she should have been.

Eve Torres.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

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Part Two

Someone was screaming. The voice was loud, shrill in her ears, and it took Kaitlyn a long moment to realize that the sound was coming from her. Moving shakily, she started to rise to her knees, then found herself being yanked to her feet.

"Stop. Stop screaming now. You're not doing anybody any good," a sharp voice she didn't recognize said, the man shaking her slightly to get her attention, and Kaitlyn turned her head to find Dean Ambrose staring down at her, the diva realizing that it was his hands on her arms. "What happened here?" he demanded to know, and Kaitlyn tried to pull away from him only to find herself hauled back.

"I... I have to... Someone... We need..."

Her breathing was coming in gasps, faster and faster, and suddenly she was being dragged to a nearby vehicle, pushed into the backseat, and her head shoved down. "Put your head between your knees and breathe, damn it. You're not doing anybody any good. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow. Otherwise you're going to pass out," Ambrose told her, his voice sharp, but somehow matter-of-fact. He was barking orders, not coddling her, and somehow, that seemed to help. If the guy that had spent the past couple of months attacking half the roster with his buddies had attempted to coddle her, then she probably really would have passed out.

Trying to gather herself, Kaitlyn breathed in and out slowly, the diva starting to realize that Ambrose's intervention had probably stopped her from lapsing into a full-blown panic attack. After a moment, she managed to calm herself enough that she could speak coherently.

"She needs an ambulance."

"I know. Roman went to get the medics. Now tell me what happened," the man demanded, his expression fierce, and Kaitlyn had to remind herself that so far, the Shield hadn't attacked any of the women in the company and that it was pretty unlikely that they would start right now by attacking someone that had just come close to having a panic attack.

Kaitlyn tried to get out of the vehicle, which she realized was an SUV as she nearly fell out of it... Ambrose easily catching her and putting her back onto the seat. "She shouldn't be alone-"

"She's not. I wouldn't let her be," Ambrose replied, the man stepping to the side just slightly as he spoke, allowing Kaitlyn to see that he was right. Eve wasn't alone. While Ambrose had been occupied with her and Roman Reigns had apparently run off to get help, the third member of the Shield was currently with Eve, kneeling near her head.

"He can't move her. She shouldn't be moved-"

"He knows that. He's not going to move her," the man replied, flicking a look in that direction as well. Kaitlyn was staring at where Rollins and Eve were... Rollins was actually kneeling so that his knees were on either side of her head, the man leaning over her, and Kaitlyn realized that he was probably trying to be in a position to try to keep her still if she regained consciousness and attempted to move. Kofi Kingston was there as well, shooting wary looks at Rollins, but not trying to make him move away from the injured diva. Of course, any sort of fight in Eve's vicinity could just injure the woman worse...

"There was a car. It came around and... It was moving... I thought it was really fast, but maybe it just seemed..." Taking a deep breath, she moved to get out of the vehicle again, and this time Ambrose let her, though he did have to grab onto her arm and pull her back up when it seemed like her knees were going to give out on her. Moving clumsily, she stepped closer to the others, her eyes on Eve's still form. The other woman was breathing, she could see that much, but she couldn't tell much else. "They were aiming for me. I was the one. She pushed me... She pushed me out of the way," Kaitlyn said, forcing herself to look away, for the first time realizing that she and Ambrose and Rollins and Kofi weren't the only ones out there. Something of a crowd had started to gather around because bad news traveled fast and people tended to show up to gawk at horrible things. Lilian Garcia looked horrified, and Kaitlyn thought the older woman might be crying, and she could see Paul Heyman standing in the group looking shocked... And Zack Ryder was there as well, standing next to Santino and looking inappropriately... amused... by the whole thing.

"Eve's head's between some guy's legs. Probably a normal position for her," Zack said just loud enough to be heard, the man gesturing to the way Rollins was positioned to keep Eve from moving... And suddenly Kaitlyn was throwing herself forward, lowering her shoulder and hitting Zack right in the gut, slamming him down with a spear that was probably even nastier than the one that she'd landed on Eve earlier that night.

"You fucking bastard! You... immature asshole piece of shit," she spat at him, the diva slamming her fists against whatever part of him she could find, and then she felt arms band around her and drag her off of Ryder, the diva still kicking at the shocked man as she was pulled away... Managing to land a kick to his chin as she was dragged off. For their parts, no one else that was gathered around even attempted to help the man, and Del Rio was giving him a particularly disgusted look. Ricardo Rodriguez had run off, presumably to get help, obviously unaware that Roman Reigns had already left to do the same. Wanting to get another shot in on Ryder, Kaitlyn struggled against the man that held her, but the arms that were banded around her held tight.

"Calm down, hell-cat," a voice that she now knew was Ambrose's said in her ear, and before she could protest that, he continued. "Little fucker will get his, trust me on that."

"She protected me. I don't care what she might have done before... She might have saved my life tonight. She doesn't deserve-"

"Damn right she doesn't. And he'll pay for what he said," Ambrose told her, putting her back down on her feet, watching as Kaitlyn ran her hands through her hair... The man frowning and reaching out to grab her wrists. Kaitlyn had no idea what he was doing until he flipped her hands over so that they were palm-up, and the diva felt her own eyes widen at how torn up they looked. She hadn't even felt it. "What the hell happened?" the man demanded.

"I... When she pushed me out of the way. I fell," Kaitlyn finally said, knowing that had to be the answer. The concrete of the parking garage had seriously skinned up her hands. They were bleeding enough that she'd probably just gotten blood in her hair when she'd run her hands through it. "I didn't even notice."

"This is pretty nasty. You need to get this looked at." He looked over his shoulder at the group, considered for a moment, then nodded towards the ring announcer. "Garcia."

Lilian blinked in surprise, looking startled and a little scared to be singled out. "Yes?"

"Take Kaitlyn to the trainers' room. Medics are on their way for Eve, but Kaitlyn needs something for her hands."

Kaitlyn shook her head. "I don't want-"

"Take care of yourself. We'll make sure that Eve's taken care of," the man said, giving her a look that said he meant business, and after a moment, Kaitlyn nodded, unable to stop herself from looking back, the diva sending up a quick prayer for Eve as she let Lilian lead her away.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

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Part Three

Her hands were bandaged, little bits of dirt and grit picked out of them with tweezers, the injuries then sprayed with antiseptic and carefully covered by the one medic that hadn't rushed out when Roman Reigns had come to tell them of what had happened to Eve.

"She pushed me out of the way. I went up to her and picked a fight with her. I shoved her when she tried to walk away. She knocked me on my butt for that, but then she handed me my bag and went to walk away. And when that car came... She pushed me out of the way. I don't understand."

"Maybe it was instinct. She saw danger, knew something bad was going to happen, so she did the only thing she could think of to help."

"And she put herself in the path of that car in order to save me," Kaitlyn said quietly, staring at her bandaged palms before looking over at Lilian. "I don't understand. I just... And damn Zack Ryder for saying... He just..."

"He deserved everything you gave him and more. Making comments like that when Eve was lying there on the ground after being hit by a car," Lilian spat out, the ring announcer shaking her head, anger flashing in her eyes. Kaitlyn had been told that Lilian could have a pretty nasty temper when it was roused, but she'd never really seen it, so it surprised her when Lilian suddenly kicked out, knocking a chair over and sending it skidding a few feet.

"Rollins was just in that position to try and keep her from moving. He was trying to keep her head and neck from moving if she started to wake up. He didn't mean..." The new divas' champion trailed off, starting to reach up to push her hair from her face, stopping when she saw the bandages on her hands. Doing a lot of things would be painful for the next few days, probably. Of course, she was about a million times better off than Eve was at the moment. She'd just been knocked down. Eve had been hit by a damned car.

"I never would have expected the Shield to be the ones to be the biggest help," Lilian murmured quietly, and Kaitlyn nodded slightly. Not only had Rollins been at Eve's side trying to keep her from moving and possibly hurting herself worse, but Reigns had gone to get the medics, and Ambrose...

"I probably would have passed out or had a panic attack if Dean Ambrose hadn't been there," the woman admitted. "He's not exactly the kind and gentle type, but he kept me from freaking out. Made me calm down. Pulled me off Zack Ryder."

"That's the part I didn't like about what they did," Lilian muttered, kicking at the downed chair again, and Kaitlyn frowned, remembering Ambrose's words as the man had pulled her away from Ryder. His arms had been banded around her, holding her tightly, but he hadn't hurt her at all. And the words he'd said...

"He told me that Zack would get his. That he would pay for what he said," Kaitlyn stated, looking over at Lilian, meeting the older woman's eyes. "Ambrose. When he pulled me off Zack, that's what he told me." She frowned as she thought about the man's words, tried not to shiver when she thought about how hot his breath had been against her ear.

Lilian crossed her arms over her chest. "Good. I may not be a fan of the Shield, but I wouldn't mind seeing them deal a bit of their brand of justice out to Zack Ryder at the moment. What he said..."

"I know. Just goes to show what an immature little creep he is. She was hit by a car, and he makes comments about the way Rollins was positioned to try and keep her from moving."

Lilian pursed her lips, considering something for a moment, and then she spoke. "You were too busy beating the crap out of Zack to notice, but... you should have seen the look in Seth Rollins's eyes. When Zack said that. If looks could kill... Ryder'd be six feet under. At least," the blonde woman said, and Kaitlyn nodded.

"Good. That probably means that if Dean Ambrose wants to dish out some Shield-brand justice toward Zack, at least Rollins would be on board with it."

"If he hadn't been trying to watch over Eve, he probably would have attacked Ryder right then and there. He looked... so angry," Lillian stated, watching as Kaitlyn slid off the table she'd been sitting on, the woman frowning as she looked at her bags. Lilian had been the one to carry them into the trainers' room for her. To be honest, Kaitlyn probably would have forgotten them in the parking garage if Ambrose hadn't picked them up off the ground and shoved them at her before Lilian had led her away.

"He's not the only one angry about it," Kaitlyn muttered, starting to reach for her things, blinking in surprise when Lilian reached down and grabbed them instead. "Lil-"

"I'm not letting you mess up your bandages. In fact, you probably shouldn't even drive yourself to wherever you're going next."

"Home, actually."

"Well, I was planning to take a cab, so I'll drive your car and take you home instead," the blonde woman said, gathering up her things as well, the two of them exiting the trainers' room. They quickly spotted the SmackDown GM Booker T standing in the hall, Teddy Long at his side, and it didn't take much to realize that Theodore Long was actually trying to convince Booker T to have the paperwork for Eve's resignation sent to the hospital so that the woman could sign them as soon as possible.

"You're disgusting," Kaitlyn snapped out, unable to stop herself as she realized that Teddy Long was so bent on making sure that Eve was fully gone from the WWE that he wanted her chased down at the hospital after being hit by a freaking car.

"Now, Kaitlyn-"

"No! She was hit by a car! She pushed me out of the way. She protected me."

"She also quit tonight-"

"And the paperwork to make her resignation official can wait. Or are you afraid she'll change her mind?" Kaitlyn declared, then looked at the SmackDown General Manager. "Booker, you can't-"

"Kaitlyn, I am not going to do that. Trust me on it. I heard about what happened out there. That the car was coming for you, and she pushed you out of the way."

"Probably set it up so she'd look like a hero," Teddy spat out, and Lilian glared at the man.

"She got hit by a car and is on her way to the hospital. No one would plan something like that just to look like a hero," the ring announcer said, shaking her head. "I know you don't like her, but that's ridiculous."

"I'm going to find who did this," Booker said, apparently deciding to ignore Teddy's words for the moment. "I can promise you that, Kaitlyn. Whoever hit Eve is going to pay."

"Do you know what hospital she was taken to?" Kaitlyn asked, surprised when someone else answered them.

"I wrote it down. Thought you might want to know," Kofi Kingston said as he approached, and Kaitlyn vaguely remembered that he had been there, too, kneeling at Eve's side along with Rollins as they waited for the medics.

Kaitlyn took the slip of paper from him. "Thank you. I... Did anyone go with her? When she... She shouldn't be alone."

"She's not. Someone showed up right before they took her off, and he insisted on going with her."

"And who was that?" Kaitlyn asked, trying to run through her mind who might have gone off with Eve, who she was close to backstage... But not really coming up with anything.

"CM Punk. He went with her, and Paul Heyman was taking care of the car."

"And the Shield? Where did they go after she left in the ambulance?" Kaitlyn asked, some vague idea of thanking them for their actions sliding through her mind, but Kofi shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea. Once the medics had taken off with Eve... They were gone."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

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Part Four

She moved quietly through the hall of the hospital, her hair pulled through the back of a baseball cap, her sunglasses stuck on top of the cap. It was bright and semi-early the next morning... Well, maybe not too early. Her hands had made it a pain to get ready, not to mention actually driving, so it was a little after ten in the morning by the time she managed to get there. Booker T had given her the number of Eve's hospital room, the man assuring her that he hadn't given it out to Teddy Long and that he would only be visiting Eve himself later in the day in order to see how she was doing. Eve's impromptu resignation would be put on the shelf for now. And while Kaitlyn knew it was Eve's decision about whether or not to leave, she didn't think the paperwork should be brought to her while she was in a hospital bed. Maybe Eve would change her mind, maybe she wouldn't, but now she'd have more time to think about things, no matter what she decided. Of course, at the moment, Kaitlyn didn't even know if sticking around would be an option for Eve... She still didn't know how badly the other woman was injured.

"Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay," the diva muttered, taking a deep breath before stepping into the room that Eve was supposed to be in... Stopping short when she saw that Eve wasn't alone in the room. It was a private room; Eve didn't have a roommate in the strictest sense, but there was someone else in there, curled up on what appeared to be a cot that had been dragged into the room.

CM Punk.

The WWE champion lay on his side, the dark circles that were under his eyes more prominent than usual, making Kaitlyn wonder just how late he'd stayed up before he finally crashed. She knew Kofi had said that the man had gone to the hospital with Eve, but it appeared that he'd not only gone with her; he'd also stayed with her, probably all night.

"I'm not sure if he finally got so tired he passed out, or if someone finally just knocked him over the head with something," a low voice said, and Kaitlyn turned toward the sound of it, the diva taking an automatic step back when she saw who was in the doorway. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and the truth was, if she hadn't been able to see the part of his hair that was bleached blond, she might not have recognized Seth Rollins outside of the ring without his Shield gear on.

The man nodded at her, taking a sip of the coffee he had, then gestured toward her. "How are your hands?"

Kaitlyn looked down at the bandages she wore. It had been a pain in the ass to change them on her own that morning, but she'd done it. "Sore. But I'm fine."

"How'd you get home last night?"

The new divas' champion shrugged. "Lilian drove my car for me. Kofi followed us so that he could take her back to her hotel afterward." She shot a look at the woman in the bed. "Is Eve...?"

"Asleep. She doesn't like painkillers, so I'm not about to wake her up. At least when she's asleep, she doesn't feel the pain," he told her, and Kaitlyn nodded, then took a deep breath, asking the question that had been bubbling inside from the moment he'd stepped into the room.

"What are you doing here? You... I don't understand... I mean, you and the rest of the Shield were great last night. You made sure that Eve didn't move and Roman Reigns went to get help and I'm pretty sure that I would have had a panic attack and ended up hyperventilating and passing out or something if Ambrose hadn't been snapping orders at me and making me calm down, but... Why are you here now?"

Rollins took another drink of his coffee, eyeing her over the cup as he did so. Lowering the cup, he shrugged one shoulder, his gaze moving over to the woman in the bed. "An interesting question to ask."

"I think it's a valid one."

"Why are you here? It's not like you like Eve," he replied, looking over at her again, and Kaitlyn cleared her throat, the diva crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at the man. Ever since they'd shown up at Survivor Series a couple of months before, the Shield had made Kaitlyn a little nervous... Partly because they'd shown very little fear when it came to who they went after. Yeah, okay, they hadn't gone after any women before - and last night they'd acted pretty awesomely after Eve had been hit - but they were still... Unpredictable. One night they might go after Ryback in the ring, the next they may attack Orton backstage... Or just show up with Rey's mask during Sin Cara's match. It was impossible to figure out who they might go after next.

Turning away from Rollins, Kaitlyn finally replied to him. "That car wasn't coming for her. When I turned, it was coming right at me. She pushed me out of the way last night. That's why my hands are like this," the diva said, turning back toward him, lifting her hands to show the bandages on them. Rollins looked at them for a moment, then let his gaze travel back up to her face. Kaitlyn swallowed hard before continuing. "She pushed me hard enough to get me completely out of the car's path. And she got hit instead."

"So you're here because you feel guilty."

"I'm here because she may have saved my life. I'm the one that approached her last night. She knocked me on my ass, and I deserved it. I was going after her verbally for quitting, and when she basically turned her back on me, I shoved her. She swept my legs out from under me. And then when I got up again, she handed me my bag. I don't... I don't understand her. I don't understand why she did what she did. Why she helped me. I could have been..."

"It could have been you instead of her. But she didn't let it be," Seth stated quietly, firmly, his eyes on hers, and for a moment, Kaitlyn stood there, not sure what else to say... But then the man's gaze slid from hers, moving to the woman in the bed, and as she looked over, the diva realized why Rollins's attention was drawn to her.

Because Eve was waking up.

Straightening up, Kaitlyn started to take a step in the direction of the bed, stopping short when Rollins crossed over there instead, the man putting his coffee cup down on the little table next to the bed. He put one hand on the railing of the bed, the other reaching over, gently smoothing Eve's hair... The injured woman's eyes fluttering open, Kaitlyn unable to see her expression from where she stood, but Eve certainly didn't *seem* startled or afraid to wake up to find Seth Rollins looking down at her.

"Hey," Eve whispered after a moment, her voice sounding a little scratchy, and Rollins gave the smallest of smiles.

"Hey, beautiful," he said quietly, smoothing her hair back again, the man leaning toward her, and Kaitlyn watched with something akin to shock as Rollins leaned in close to Eve... and kissed her.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows.

Note: There is currently a poll up on my profile regarding the leading man for a potential future fic. I'd appreciate it if some of y'all would stop over and vote. Thanks. -K

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Part Five

She stood there for a moment, watching Rollins with Eve... But then she spun on her heel and walked out, not sure why it was that she suddenly felt like she was about to cry. Maybe it had something to do with how they looked at each other, how careful he was with her... How it all just made Eve seem all the more human and made what had happened last night seem all the more awful.

"Hey! Where are you going? I thought you came to see Eve," a low voice that she now recognized as Seth Rollins said, the man reaching out and taking hold of her arm, pulling her around to face him as they reached a waiting area near some vending machines, including one for coffee that Rollins had probably gotten his from earlier. Kaitlyn covered her face with her hands, not wanting him to see that she was starting to cry, but she could feel his gaze on her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't... I just... You two are together," she said, then flinched, knowing that made it sound like she was bothered by that, which she wasn't. Seth Rollins and Eve Torres were free to date each other if they wanted to. It was just... "Your girlfriend is hurt because of me. I just..."

"Actually, I think my girlfriend is hurt because of some asshole that decided to try and run someone down with a car," Rollins stated, a hard edge to his voice, though Kaitlyn knew that the anger she could hear there wasn't actually directed at her. Maybe part of her would have felt better if it had been.

Lowering her hands from her face, the woman wiped at her eyes, glad she hadn't bothered to put any eye makeup on, because she would just be ruining it right now anyway. "They wanted to run me down, not her."

"And as I said before, she didn't let it happen." He met her gaze unflinchingly. "No matter what you think, I know Eve better than you do. I'm not surprised by what she did last night."

She let out a breath. "Maybe that's why I feel so bad."

"Because you were surprised?" Seth questioned, and Kaitlyn felt the tears coming again, and she bit her lip, trying to keep her chin from quivering, but it was no use. The tears were coming whether she wanted them to or not, and when she lifted her hands again to cover her face, she was surprised to feel herself being tugged forward, Rollins's arms actually coming around her... The diva actually starting to cry harder when she realized that he was trying to comfort her. His girlfriend was in the damn hospital because she'd saved Kaitlyn from being hit by a car, and instead of yelling, he was trying to comfort her. Add that to the fact that the man was a member of the Shield - a group she would have never believed to actually have any compassion before last night - and it was just all the more bizarre.

"It's okay, Kaitlyn," he told her, his voice low, and she shook her head in response.

"No, it's not. Eve's in the hospital and someone out there hit her with a car and is getting away with it. Whether it was meant for me or not... She got hit and... I just..."

"Trust me. No one wants them to pay more than I do," the man said, releasing her when she went to step back, the young woman wiping at her face, knowing that despite the fact that she wasn't wearing eyeliner or mascara, she probably still looked like a mess. She'd never been one of those girls that could still look pretty even when they cried.

"I don't understand what happened last night. I really don't," Kaitlyn said quietly, still wiping at her face, hating that the tears wouldn't stop coming. She hated that she was crying in public, crying in front of Seth Rollins of all people, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. "I don't know why... They were aiming for me. It felt like..." She shook her head. "Maybe I'm crazy."

"And maybe you're not," Rollins stated, something in his tone sending a chill down Kaitlyn's spine... She frowned as she looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

The man sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I mean... More than I should really say in the hallway of a damn hospital where anybody passing by could hear us talking," he said, then flicked a look back down the hall toward the room where Eve was... Kaitlyn flinching a little at the realization that Eve was probably in that room, awake and alone, because Rollins had come to chase her down. Well, not alone, really, she supposed, since CM Punk had been in there as well... But he'd been asleep.

"You should get back to Eve."

"I'm going to. And I think you should come with me," Rollins told her. "You came to see her for a reason, didn't you?"

The woman nodded. "I did. Though I'm not sure I can really put that into words. I just... I needed to."

"Okay. Then I think you should take a minute to get yourself together, then you should come back to Eve's room and say what you need to say," the wrestler said, frowning slightly as he looked at her. "She doesn't blame you."

Kaitlyn blinked. "What?"

"You're blaming yourself because Eve made the split-second decision to push you out of the way, putting herself in danger instead. But the decision was hers, and she doesn't blame you because she's the one that made it." He paused. "She asked if you were okay. Last night, when she woke up. She wanted to make sure that she pushed you hard enough to get you clear."

"Now you're just going to make me cry again," the woman whispered, and he shrugged.

"Not my intent. Now go and get yourself together, then come back. Okay?" he said, and the Houston native nodded in response, watching as Rollins turned and walked away, the man heading back toward Eve's hospital room. After a moment, she made her way toward the public restroom sign that she could see, pushing the door open and walking in, making a face as she looked at her reflection in the harsh lighting.

Quickly, she splashed water on her face, knowing that she couldn't do anything for the redness of her eyes, but hoping to at least get the tear tracks off her face. Using paper towels, she wiped her face dry, staring at herself in the mirror for a long moment. She still didn't look that great, and anyone that looked could probably tell that she'd been crying, but at least the tears weren't currently rolling down her face or anything.

"You owe her a visit, Kaitlyn. Just get it together and get it over with," she muttered to herself, then stepped back, her thoughts going back to her conversation with Rollins in the hallway, the look on his face when she'd said that maybe she was crazy to think the car had been aiming for her and his response that maybe she wasn't. Whatever was going on... Whatever he thought might be going on... She needed to find out.

And so, taking a deep breath, the diva squared her shoulders and left the restroom, heading back down the hall towards Eve's room, not at all sure what was going to happen next.


End file.
